Hans Holbein, the Younger (1497-1543), Court Painter to King Henry VIII of England. Search HANS HOLBEIN, the Younger (1497-1543), German painter, favourite son of Hans Holbein the elder, was probably born it Augsburg about the year 1497. Though Sandrart and Van Mander declare that they do not know who gave him the first lessons, he doubtless received an artist's education from his father. About 1515 he left Augsburg with Ambrose, his elder brother, to seek employment as an illustrator of books at Basel. His first patron is said to have been Erasmus , for whom, shortly after his arrival, he illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches an edition of the Encomium Moriae, now in the museum of Basel. But his chief occupation was that of drawing titlepage-blocks and initials for new editions of the Bible and classics issued from the presses of Froben and other publishers.

His leisure hours, it is supposed, were devoted to the production of rough painter's work, a schoolmaster's sign in the Basel collection, a table with pictures of St Nobody in the library of the university at Zurich. In contrast with these coarse productions, the portraits of Jacob Meyer and his wife in the Basel museum, one of which purports to have been finished in 1516, are miracles of workmanship. It has always seemed difficult indeed to ascribe such excellent creations to Holbein's nineteenth year; and it is hardly credible that he should have been asked to do things of this kind so early, especially when it is remembered that neither he nor his brother Ambrose were then allowed to matriculate in the guild of Basel. Not till 1517 did Ambrose, whose life otherwise remains obscure, join that corporation; Hans, not overburdened with practice, wandered into Switzerland, where (1517) he was employed to paint in the house of Jacob Hertenstein at Lucerne. In 1519 Holbein reappeared at Basel, where he matriculated and, there is every reason to think, married.

Whether, previous to this time, he took advantage of his vicinity to the Italian border to cross the Alps is uncertain. Van Mander says that he never was in Italy; yet the large wall-paintings which he executed after 1519 at Basel, and the series of his sketches and pictures which is still extant, might lead to the belief that Van Mander was misinformed. The spirit of Holbein's compositions for the Basel town hall, the scenery and architecture of his numerous drawings, and the cast of form in some of his imaginative portraits, make it more likely that he should have felt the direct influence of North Italian painting than that he should have taken Italian element from imported works or prints. The Swiss at this period wandered in thousands to swell the ranks of the French or imperial armies fighting on Italian soil, and the road they took may have been followed by Hans on a more peaceful mission.

He shows himself at all events familiar with Italian exampla at various periods of his career; and if we accept as early works the "Flagellation," and the " Last Supper " at Basel, coarse as they are, they show some acquaintance with Lombard methods of painting, whilst in other pieces, such as the series of the Passion in oil in the same collection, the modes of Hans Holbein the elder are agreeably commingled with a more modern, it may be said Italian, polish. Again, looking at the "Virgin" and " Man of Sorrows " in the Basel museum, we shall be struck by a searching metallic style akin to that of the Ferrarese; and the " Lais " or the " Venus and Amor " of the same collection reminds us of the Leonardesques of the school of Milan.

When Holbein settled down to an extensive practice at Basel in 1519, he decorated the walls of the house "Zum Tanz" with simulated architectural features of a florid character after the fashion of the Veronese; and his wall paintings in the town-hall, if we can truly judge of them by copies, reveal an artist not unfamiliar with North Italian composition, distribution, action, gesture and expression. In his drawings too, particularly in a set representing the Passion at Basel, the arrangement, and also the perspective, form and decorative ornament, are in the spirit of the school of Mantegna. Contemporary with these, however, and almost inexplicably in contrast with them as regards handling, are portrait-drawings such as the likenesses of Jacob Meyer , and his wife, which are finished with German delicacy, and with a power and subtlety of hand seldom rivalled in any school. Curiously enough, the same contrast may be observed between painted compositions and painted portraits. The " Bonifacius Amerbach " of 1519 at Basel is acknowledged to be one of the most complete examples of smooth and transparent handling that Holbein ever executed.

His versatility at this period is shown by a dead Christ (1521), a corpse in profile on a dissecting table, and a set of figures in couples; the " Madonna and St Pantalus ," and " Kaiser Henry with the Empress Kunigunde " (1522), originally composed for the organ loft of the Basel cathedral, now in the Basel museum. Equally remarkable, but more attractive, though injured, is the " Virgin and Child between St Ursus and St Nicholas " (not St Martin) giving alms to a beggar, in the gallery of Solothurn. This remarkable picture is dated 1527, and seems to have been ordered for an altar in the minster of St Ursus of Solothurn by Nicholas Conrad, a captain and statesman of the 16th century, whose family allowed the precious heirloom to fall into decay in a chapel of the neighbouring village of Grenchen.

Numerous drawings in the spirit of this picture, and probably of the same period in his career, might have led Holbein's contemporaries to believe that he would make his mark in the annals of Basel as a model for painters of altarpieces as well as a model for pictorial composition and portrait. The promise which he gave at this time was immense. He was gaining a freedom in draughtsmanship that gave him facility to deal with any subject. Though a realist, he was sensible of the dignity and severity of religious painting. His colour had almost all the richness and sweetness of the Venetians. But he had fallen on evil times, as the next few years undoubtedly showed.

Amongst the portraits which he executed in these years are those of Froben, the publisher , known only by copies at Basel and Hampton Court, and Erasmus, who sat in 1523, as he likewise did in 1530, in various positions, showing his face threequarters as at 1) Longford , 2) Basel , 3) Turin, 4) Parma , 5) the Hague and 6) Vienna, and in profile as in the 7) Louvre or at 8) Hampton Court . Besides these, Holbein made designs for glass windows, and for woodcuts, including subjects of every sort, from the Virgin and Child with saints of the old time to the Dance of Death , from gospel incidents extracted from Luther's Bible to satirical pieces illustrating the sale of indulgences and other abuses denounced by Reformers. Holbein, in this way, was carried irresistibly with the stream of the Reformation, in which, it must now be admitted, the old traditions of religious painting were wrecked, leaving nothing behind but unpictorial elements which Cranach and his school vainly used for pictorial purposes.

Once only, after 1526, and after he had produced the " Lais " and " Venus and Amor ," did Holbein with impartial spirit give his services and pencil to the Roman Catholic cause. The burgomaster Meyer, whose patronage he had already enjoyed, now asked him to represent himself and his wives and children in prayer before the Virgin; and Holbein produced the celebrated altarpiece now in the palace... at Darmstadt, the shape and composition of which are known to all the world by its copy in the Dresden museum. The drawings for this masterpiece are amongst the most precious relics in the museum of Basel. The time now came when art began to suffer from unavoidable depression in all countries north of the Alps. Holbein, at Basel, was reduced to accept the smallest commissions — even for scutcheons. Then he saw that his chances were dwindling to nothing, and taking a bold resolution, armed with letters of introduction from Erasmus to More , he crossed the Channel to England, where in the one-sided branch of portrait painting he found an endless circle of clients.

Eighty-seven drawings by Holbein in Windsor Castle, containing an equal number of portraits, of persons chiefly of high quality, testify to his industry in the years which divide 1528 from 1543. They are all originals of pictures that are still extant, or sketches for pictures that were lost or never carried out. Sir Thomas More , with whom he seems to have had a very friendly connexion, sat to him for likenesses of various kinds. The drawing of his head is at Windsor. A pen-and-ink sketch, in which we see More surrounded by all the members of his family , is now in the gallery of Basel, and numerous copies of a picture from it prove how popular the lost original must once have been. At the same period were executed the portraits of Warham ( 1. Lambeth and 2. Louvre ), [Sir Henry] Wyatt (Louvre), Sir Henry Guildford and his wife (Windsor), all finished in 1527, the astronomer Nicholas Kratzer (Louvre), Thomas Godsalve (Dresden), and Sir Bryan Tuke ([Washington and] Munich) in 1528.

In this year, 1528, Holbein returned to Basel, taking to Erasmus the sketch of More's family. With money which he brought from London he purchased a house at Basel wherein to lodge his wife and children , whose portraits he now painted with all the care of a husband and father (1528). He then witnessed the flight of Erasmus and the fury of the iconoclasts, who destroyed in one day almost all the religious pictures at Basel. The municipality, unwilling that he should suffer again from the depression caused by evil times, asked him to finish the frescoes of the town-hall, and the sketches from these lost pictures are still before us to show that he had not lost the spirit of his earlier days, and was still capable as a composer. His " Rehoboam receiving the Israelite Envoys ," and " Saul at the Head of his Array meeting Samuel ," testify to Holbein's power and his will, also proved at a later period by the " Triumphs of Riches and Poverty ," executed for the Steelyard in London (but now lost), to prefer the fame of a painter of history to that of a painter of portraits.

But the reforming times still remained unfavourable to art. With the exception of a portrait of Melanchthon (Hanover) which he now completed, Holbein found little to do at Basel. The year 1530, therefore, saw him again on the move, and he landed in England for the second time with the prospect of bettering his fortunes. Here indeed political changes had robbed him of his earlier patrons. The circle of More and Warham was gone. But that of the merchants of the Steelyard took its place, for whom Holbein executed the long and important scries of portraits that lie scattered throughout the galleries and collections of England and the Continent, and bear date after 1532. Then came again the chance of practice in more fashionable circles. In 1333 the " Ambassadors " (National Gallery), and the "Triumphs of Wealth and Poverty" were executed, then the portraits of Leland and Wyatt (Longford), and (1534) the portrait of Thomas Cromwell . Through Cromwell Holbein probably became attached to the court, in the pay of which he appears permanently after 1337.

From that time onwards he was connected with all that was highest in the society of London. Henry VIII invited him to make a family picture of himself, his father and family , which obtained a post of honour at Whitehall. The beautiful cartoon of a part of this fine piece... enables us to gauge its beauty before the fire which destroyed it in the 17th century. Then Holbein painted Jane Seymour in state (Vienna), employing some English band perhaps to make the replicas at 1. the Hague , Sion House and Woburn; he finished the [Sir Richard] Southwell of the Uffizi, the jeweller Morett at Dresden, and last, not least, Christine of Denmark , who gave sittings at Brussels in 1538. During the journey which this work involved Holbein took the opportunity of revisiting Basel, where he made his appearance in silk and satin, and pro forma only accepted the office of town painter. He had been living long and continuously away from home, not indeed observing due fidelity to his wife, who still resided at Basel, but fairly performing the duties of keeping her in comfort.

His return to London in autumn enabled him to do homage to the king in the way familiar to artists. He presented to Henry at Christmas a portrait of Prince Edward . Again abroad in the summer of 1539, he painted with great fidelity the princess Anne of Cleves , at Düren near Cologne, whose form we still see depicted in the great picture of the Louvre. That he could render the features of his sitter without flattery is plain from this one example. Indeed, habitual flattery was contrary to his habits. His portraits up to this time all display that uncommon facility for seizing character which his father enjoyed before him, and which he had inherited in an expanded form. No amount of labour, no laboriousness of finish — and of both he was ever prodigal — betrayed him into loss of resemblance or expression. No painter was ever quicker at noting peculiarities of physiognomy, and it may be observed that in none of his faces, as indeed in none of the faces one sees in nature, are the two sides alike. Yet he was not a child of the 16th century, as the Venetians were, in substituting touch for line.

We must not look in his works for modulations of surface or subtle contrasts of colour in juxtaposition. His method was to the very last delicate, finished and smooth, as became a painter of the old school. Amongst the more important creations of Holbein's later time we should note his " Duke of Norfolk " at Windsor, the hands of which are so perfectly preserved as to compensate for the shrivel that now disfigures the head. Two other portraits of 1541 ([ De Vos van Steenwijk in] Berlin and [ Unknown Young Man in] Vienna), the Falconer at the Hague , and John Chambers at Vienna (1542), are noble specimens of portrait art; most interesting and of the same year are the likenesses of Holbein himself, of which several examples are extant — one particularly good at Fähna, the seat of the Stackelberg family near Riga, and another at the Uffizi in Florence. Here Holbein appears to us as a man of regular features, with hair just turning grey, but healthy in colour and shape, and evidently well to do in the world. Yet a few months only separated him then from his death-bed.

He was busy painting a picture of Henry the VIII confirming the Privileges of the Barber Surgeons (Lincoln's Inn Fields), when he sickened of the plague and died after making a will about November 1543. His loss must have been seriously felt in England. Had he lived his last years in Germany, he would not have changed the current which decided the fate of painting in that country; he would but have shared the fate of Dührer and others who merely prolonged the agony of art amidst the troubles of the Reformation. Source: Crowe, Sir Joseph Archer. "Hans Holbein the Younger." The Encyclopædia Britannica. 11th Ed. Vol. XIII. New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Co., 1910. 578-580. Web Links: Hans Holbein | The Tudors Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Share Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein is a German artist and the court painter of King Henry VIII .

He only appears in a handful of episodes throughout the series, but is frequently mentioned, as he is often comissioned by Henry or whomever Henry's current Queen is to create an artwork. Holbein is not of noble blood either in England or the German states, but he is protected by Henry's patronage. A shy and unassuming man, Holbein does not offer his opinions on anything at court besides art, and thus escapes all the power struggles concerning the nobility and the clergy. Nonetheless, he remains very aware of the Reformation, having originated from the free city of Augsburg in Bavaria- where he would have been openly exposed to Lutheranism. Despite the deaths of his two most prominent patrons- Sir Thomas More and Anne Boleyn - in Season Two , his reputation remains undamaged. Holbein pains Ursula Missledon nude (Season Three) In Season Three , Hobein is doing a nude portrait using Lady Ursula Missledon as his model, commissioned by the King (since Ursula is his latest mistress). Her fiance happens to barge in while Missledon is posing naked, and, misunderstanding, attacks Holbein.

Holbein defends himself, throwing the man into a shelf and smashing it in the process. He goes to Henry immediately to apologize, fearing severe punishment for manhandling a nobleman, but Henry finds the incident hillarious and reassures Holbein he has done no harm, telling him to keep working on the painting. Later in the season after Jane Seymour's death, Holbein is sent along with Henry's envoys to make portraits of various princesses Henry is considering for re-marriage. Although he paints a portrait of Christina of Denmark that particularly draws Henry's interest, Christina is vehemently against the marriage, as Henry's poor reputation has proceeded him ever since he had Anne Boleyn beheaded. When Thomas Cromwell sends Holbein to make a portrait of Anne of Cleves at Henry's request, Cromwell privately orders him to make the portrait beautiful even if Anne of Cleves is unattractive, since Cromwell is determined to unite Cleves with England to further the Protestant influence. This order would have severe repercussions; Henry approves Holbein's portrait but finds Anne herself unattractive and blames Cromwell for the whole affair, leaving him vulnerable to his many enemies at court.

Holbein remained court painter, but his standing with Henry was somewhat reduced after Cromwell was executed. Holbein's initial approach to painting King Henry In the Series Finale, Holbein is shown working on various stages of his famous painting of Henry, who is nearing the end of his life. At one point, after seeing the vision of his first wife Catherine of Aragon , Henry criticizes Holbein's unflattering work angrily, saying Holbein's portrait of his father made him look old and sickly, and that he painted Henry the same way. He orders Holbein to repaint it. A few weeks before his death, Henry is asleep in his study one night when a servant comes and tells him Holbein has the finished portrait to show him. Henry limps into the room and as Holbein removes the canvass, a stream of images from the series- representing all the major events of Henry's life- play before his eyes. Holbein reveals the image of Henry in his classic 'man of destiny' pose; after contemplating it for a moment, Henry announces that it is well done, and leaves.

A terminally ill King Henry survey's Hobein's classic portrait of him, Section heading Hans Holbein the Younger | German painter | Britannica.com Hans Holbein the Younger Leonardo da Vinci Hans Holbein the Younger, (born 1497/98, Augsburg , Bishopric of Augsburg [Germany]—died 1543, London , England ), German painter, draftsman, and designer, renowned for the precise rendering of his drawings and the compelling realism of his portraits, particularly those recording the court of King Henry VIII of England. Holbein was a member of a family of important artists. His father, Hans Holbein the Elder , and his uncle Sigmund were renowned for their somewhat conservative examples of late Gothic painting in Germany . One of Holbein’s brothers, Ambrosius, became a painter as well, but he apparently died about 1519 before reaching maturity as an artist. The Holbein brothers no doubt first studied with their father in Augsburg; they both also began independent work about 1515 in Basel , Switzerland.

It should be noted that this chronology places Holbein firmly in the second generation of 16th-century German artists. Albrecht Dürer , Matthias Grünewald , and Lucas Cranach the Elder all were born between 1470 and 1480 and were producing their mature masterpieces by the time Holbein was just beginning his career. Holbein is, in fact, the only truly outstanding German artist of his generation. Sir Thomas More, oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527; in the Frick Collection, New York … Photos.com/Thinkstock Holbein’s work in Basel during the decade of 1515–25 was extremely varied, if also sometimes derivative. Trips to northern Italy (c. 1517) and France (1524) certainly affected the development of his religious subjects and portraiture, respectively. Holbein entered the painters’ corporation in 1519, married a tanner’s widow, and became a burgher of Basel in 1520. By 1521 he was executing important mural decorations in the Great Council Chamber of Basel’s town hall.

Holbein was associated early on with the Basel publishers and their humanist circle of acquaintances. There he found portrait commissions such as that of the humanist scholar Bonifacius Amerbach (1519). In this and other early portraits, Holbein showed himself to be a master of the current German portrait idiom , using robust characterization and accessories, strong gaze, and dramatic silhouette. In Basel, Holbein was also active in designing woodcuts for title pages and book illustrations. The artist’s most famous work in this area, a series of 41 scenes illustrating the medieval allegorical concept of the “ Dance of Death,” was designed by him and cut by another artist as early as about 1523 to 1526 but was not published until 1538. Its scenes display an immaculate sense of order, packing much information about the lifestyles and habits of Death’s victims into a very small format. In portraiture, too, Holbein’s minute sense of observation was soon evident.

His first major portrait of Desiderius Erasmus (1523) portrays the Dutch humanist scholar as physically withdrawn from the world, sitting at his desk engaged in his voluminous European correspondence; his hands are as sensitively rendered as his carefully controlled profile. Britannica Stories Cheetahs Face Extinction Risk Protestantism, which had been introduced into Basel as early as 1522, grew considerably in strength and importance there during the ensuing four years. By 1526 severe iconoclastic riots and strict censorship of the press swept over the city. In the face of what, for the moment at least, amounted to a freezing of the arts, Holbein left Basel late in 1526, with a letter of introduction from Erasmus, to travel by way of the Netherlands to England. Though only about 28 years old, he would achieve remarkable success in England. His most impressive works of this time were executed for the statesman and author Sir Thomas More and included a magnificent single portrait of the humanist (1527).

In this image, the painter’s close observation extends to the tiny stubble of More’s beard, the iridescent glow of his velvet sleeves, and the abstract decorative effects of the gold chain that he wears. Holbein also completed a life-size group portrait of More’s family; this work is now lost, though its appearance is preserved in copies and in preparatory drawing . This painting was the first example in northern European art of a large group portrait in which the figures are not shown kneeling—the effect of which is to suggest the individuality of the sitters rather than impiety. Fashion Before Holbein journeyed to England in 1526, he had apparently designed works that were both pro- and anti-Lutheran in character. On returning to Basel in 1528, he was admitted, after some hesitation, to the new—and now official—faith. It would be difficult to interpret this as a very decisive change, for Holbein’s most impressive religious works, like his portraits, are brilliant observations of physical reality but seem never to have been inspired by Christian spirituality.

This is evident in both the claustrophobic, rotting body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb (1521) and in the beautifully composed Family of Burgomaster Meyer Adoring the Virgin (1526). In this latter painting, Holbein skillfully combined a late medieval German compositional format with precise Flemish realism and a monumental Italian treatment of form. Holbein apparently quite voluntarily gave up almost all religious painting after about 1530. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies In Basel from 1528 to 1532, Holbein continued his important work for the town council. He also painted what is perhaps his only psychologically penetrating portrait, that of his wife and two sons (c. 1528). This picture no doubt conveys some of the unhappiness of that abandoned family. In spite of generous offers from Basel, Holbein left his wife and children in that city for a second time, to spend the last 11 years of his life primarily in England.

By 1533 Holbein was already painting court personalities, and four years later he officially entered the service of King Henry VIII of England. He died in a London plague epidemic in 1543. It is estimated that during the last 10 years of his life Holbein executed approximately 150 portraits, life-size and miniature, of royalty and nobility alike. These portraits ranged from a magnificent series depicting German merchants who were working in London to a double portrait of the French ambassadors to Henry VIII’s court (1533) to portraits of the king himself (1536) and his wives Jane Seymour (1536) and Anne of Cleves (1539). In these and other examples, the artist revealed his fascination with plant, animal, and decorative accessories. Holbein’s preliminary drawings of his sitters contain detailed notations concerning jewelry and other costume decorations as well. Sometimes such objects point to specific events or concerns in the sitter’s life, or they act as attributes referring to a sitter’s occupation or character. The relation between accessories and face is a charged and stimulating one that avoids simple correspondence.

Anne of Cleves, portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1539; in the … © Giraudon/Art Resource, New York Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest In an analogous fashion, Holbein’s mature portraits present an intriguing play between surface and depth. The sitter’s outlines and position within the frame are carefully calculated, while inscriptions applied on the surface in gold leaf lock the sitter’s head into place. Juxtaposed with this finely tuned two-dimensional design are illusionistic miracles of velvet, fur, feathers, needlework, and leather. Holbein acted not only as a portraitist but also as a fashion designer for the court. The artist made designs for all the state robes of the king; he left, in addition, more than 250 delicate drawings for everything from buttons and buckles to pageant weapons, horse outfittings, and bookbindings for the royal household. This choice of work indicates Holbein’s Mannerist concentration on surface texture and detail of design, a concern that in some ways precluded the incorporation of great psychological depth in his portraits. Holbein was one of the greatest portraitists and most exquisite draftsmen of all time.

It is the artist’s record of the court of King Henry VIII of England, as well as the taste that he virtually imposed upon that court, that was his most remarkable achievement. The fact that Holbein’s portraits do not reveal the character or spiritual inclinations of his sitters is perfectly paralleled by knowledge of the artist’s life. His biography is basically a recounting of disparate facts; about his personality practically nothing is known. Not one note or letter from his own hand survives. Other men’s opinions of him are often equally inscrutable. Erasmus, one of Holbein’s most renowned sitters, praised and recommended him on one occasion but scorned the artist as opportunistic at another time. Indeed, Henry VIII, who sent Holbein to the Continent to help select a bride by providing a dependable portrait for his scrutiny, was perhaps the only person who had absolute confidence in Holbein. The artist’s detachment and his refusal to submit to an authority that might inhibit his own creative (but very worldly) powers enabled him to produce paintings whose beauty and brilliance have never been questioned. Had he been a more devout Christian or more subject to the turmoil of his times, his artistic achievement might have been quite different.

In recent times the lack of spiritual involvement in his work has been consistently noted, especially inasmuch as the 16th century was a time when few artists managed to remain above the religious conflict sweeping Europe. Thus, the effect of Holbein’s art has often been felt to be more artistic and external than expressionistic or emotional. Only in that sense, however, is his achievement finally limited. Hans Holbein the Younger (Getty Museum) Hans Holbein the Younger Nationality German Hans Holbein was a painter, draftsman, and designer who came from a family of artists. He trained in his father's studio in Augsburg before moving to Basel, Switzerland. In Basel, Holbein worked on house decorations, portraits, and woodcuts. He soon became a teacher in the painters' guild in Basel and was very active painting altarpieces and designing stained-glass windows.At the age of twenty-nine Holbein, went to England for two years. There he met the scholar and statesman Sir Thomas More. Holbein painted portraits of him and his family and quickly established an international reputation. Contemporaries marveled at his ability to capture the exact likeness of sitters and their elegant garments.

After four years back in Basel to finish work begun earlier in his career, Holbein returned to England. Shortly thereafter, he became exclusive court portrait painter and fashion designer to King Henry VIII of England, a position he held until his death. At courts throughout Europe, Holbein painted portraits of potential brides for the king. As the royal fashion designer, he made designs for all the king's state robes, buttons, buckles, and pageant weapons. Hans Holbein � Court Painter & Costume Designer - Art Appreciation BellaOnline's Art Appreciation Editor Hans Holbein ï¿½ Court Painter & Costume Designer Hans Holbein the Younger is best known as court painter to King Henry VIII. His costume design can be seen in an opera of today. Henry VIII of England is best remembered for his six marriages (four were annulled) and his participation in separating the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henryï¿½s second wife and queen of England (1533-1536) was Anne Boleyn. She was later accused of adultery, incest and high treason.

She was subsequently beheaded at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536 for crimes she said she did not commit. Photo of the Tower of London by the author Camille Gizzarelli As Hans Holbein was the court painter, he would paint Henry VIII in 1536, three years after his painting "The Ambassadors" with its anamorphic skull and hidden meanings. This Holbein painting resides in the National Gallery, London. Referring to the painting shown below, the portrait of the man on the left has been identified as Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador to the court of Henry VIII. This exemplifies Holbeinï¿½s technique of painting people with notable stature wearing opulent clothing and sometimes (as is the case with the king) to extend their body beyond the constraints of the canvas. This would portray the king as having a stout physique or being ï¿½larger than life'. Artist Hans Holbeinï¿½s drawings provide proof that he designed Henry VIIIï¿½s state robes as well as his suit of armor.

With that in mind, the Metropolitan Opera begins its fall 2011 season with "Anna Bolena" ï¿½ the life and death of Anne Boleyn. The costumes, of Gothic secular attire, were inspired by Hans Holbein the Younger. Although Holbein may not have painted Anne Boleyn, he did paint Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves in 1539. You can own a premium giclee print of Hans Holbein the Younger's "The Ambassadors." Related Links: BBC - Dark arts: Holbein and the court of Henry VIII Dark arts: Holbein and the court of Henry VIII 21 January 2015 To accompany the dramatisation of Wolf Hall on BBC Two, WALDEMAR JANUSZCZAK takes a look at the life and work of Hans Holbein, court painter to Henry VIII and the artist who brought the Tudor age to life. Here, Waldemar considers Holbein's influence and whether his complicated past and German, Catholic heritage point to a hidden agenda.

Face to face: Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, National Portrait Gallery, London | after Holbein Given what is happening politically in Britain today, there is a rather delicious irony about the fact that the archetypal English king, Henry VIII, owes so much to a foreigner. Worse. The foreigner was a German, and probably a closet Catholic. Awkward! Without Hans Holbein, Henry VIII would not be as famous or, indeed, as infamous, as he is; British art would definitely be more provincial, and might still be going through its Morris Dancing phase; and no way would we be as obsessed with the Tudors as we are. Waldemar Januszczak Look at Holbein's portraits, and you have Henry VIII, the widest king in Christendom I actually do not think Hilary Mantel would have written Wolf Hall if Holbein had not made something so memorable, so tangible, so wickedly fascinating of Henry VIII. Look at other people's portraits of the king, and you see an ordinary Tudor. Look at Holbein's portraits, and you have Henry VIII, the widest king in Christendom. But you probably know that already.

The fact that Holbein basically invented the Henry VIII we all recognise today is hardly a secret. Open any school history book and there he is. As are the wives he variously married and beheaded: most of whom were painted by Holbein as well. When the poor man arrived in England for the first time in 1526, he was dumped right in the middle of one of the most disruptive and toxic of all stretches of British history. And the fact that he was as good as he was – that he was one of the greatest portraitists of the Renaissance – is so fortunate, it almost seems pre-ordained. He could have been a decent hack, and no more, like all the other painters at court. But he wasn't. He was Johannes Holbein, a genius from Bavaria. Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein, Basel Kunstmuseum Something that did surprise me was how little was known about Holbein before he came to England. Erasmus by Holbein | National Gallery How on earth did the boy who has all these pops at all these juicy 16th century targets end up working so dutifully for Henry VIII?

Because the image he created of Henry and his court was so strong, there was a tendency to ignore the rest of his career. But he was nearly thirty when he got here for the first time, and already had behind him a very successful life as – and this is where it gets tricky – a religious painter. That's right, a religious painter. In fact, Holbein had painted very few portraits before he arrived in England. What he was best known for in Basel, where he worked before coming to London, was his illustrations for various printed religious texts; and the highly catholic religious art he produced for churches and cathedrals. The first time I saw the so-called Darmstadt Madonna, a particularly beautiful altarpiece of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, surrounded by saintly donors, I thought it was the work of an Italian. It was so obviously Catholic; so warmly Mediterranean; so clearly the work of a mamma's boy. How could the painter of the Darmstadt Madonna turn into the painter of the pope-bashing Henry VIII? The more I looked into Holbein's past, the more complicated it became.

He was actually born in Augsburg, in 1497, the son of another particularly Catholic religious painter from Bavaria, called Hans Holbein the Elder. The dad was fiercely talented too. So talented, it's difficult to understand why he himself isn't better known. And he must have been a really good teacher because by the time Holbein the Younger was 17, he was already in Basel doing remarkable things. A particularly important discovery, for me, were the illustrations which the young Holbein produced for a wicked satire on modern society written by Erasmus, the great Dutch naysayer . In Praise of Folly, as the book was called, is basically one long Mickey-take of modern European values. From start to finish, it criticises everyone in power. Holbein was only 17 when he began scribbling down naughty illustrations for In Praise of Folly. They are hilarious, and irredeemably satirical. How on earth did the boy who has all these pops at all these juicy 16th century targets end up working so dutifully for Henry VIII?

Unless, of course - and this is where it grows really interesting - he wasn't as dutiful as we think. What if Holbein was always more of a satirist than we assume? What if his images mean more than we think they mean? What if the 17 year old naysayer never stopped being a naysayer? What if the Catholic from Bavaria was always a Catholic from Bavaria? That really would set the cat among the pigeons, wouldn't it?

Waldemar in front of Holbein's The Ambassadors Hans Holbein the Younger | artist | 1497/8 - 1543 | National Gallery, London £ other Make this a monthly donation [{"Amount":5.0000,"CurrencyCode":"GBP","DonationDate":"2016-08-19T23:36:01","DonorDisplayName":"Fangbin Liu","DonorLocalAmount":5.0000,"DonorLocalCurrencyCode":"GBP","EstimatedTaxReclaim":0.0000,"ImageUrl":"","Message":"I like to donate because I love this great museum and the great masterpieces kept in it."},{"Amount":20.0000,"CurrencyCode":"GBP","DonationDate":"2016-11-16T20:57:11","DonorDisplayName":"Irina ","DonorLocalAmount":20.0000,"DonorLocalCurrencyCode":"GBP","EstimatedTaxReclaim":0.0000,"ImageUrl":"","Message":"One of my favourite museums.

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Thank you for being custodians of the national collection"},{"Amount":10.0000,"CurrencyCode":"GBP","DonationDate":"2016-06-21T09:56:01","DonorDisplayName":"Jane DALY","DonorLocalAmount":10.0000,"DonorLocalCurrencyCode":"GBP","EstimatedTaxReclaim":2.5000,"ImageUrl":"","Message":"A national treasure that needs supporting"},{"Amount":20.0000,"CurrencyCode":"GBP","DonationDate":"2016-11-10T19:31:19","DonorDisplayName":"Kate English","DonorLocalAmount":20.0000,"DonorLocalCurrencyCode":"GBP","EstimatedTaxReclaim":5.0000,"ImageUrl":"","Message":"What an amazing institution!

This is to say thank you for your daily guided tours and the free activities you run for children."}] Hans Holbein the Younger Detail from Hans Holbein the Younger, 'Self Portrait', about 1542-3 Florence, Uffizi © Photo Scala, Florence Holbein was one of the most accomplished portraitists of the 16th century. He spent two periods of his life in England (1526-8 and 1532-43), portraying the nobility of the Tudor court. Holbein's famous portrait of Henry VIII (London, National Portrait Gallery) dates from the second of these periods. 'The Ambassadors' , also from this period, depicts two visitors to the court of Henry VIII. 'Christina of Denmark' is a portrait of a potential wife for the king. Holbein was born in Augsburg in southern Germany in the winter of 1497-8. He was taught by his father, Hans Holbein the Elder. He became a member of the Basel artists' guild in 1519. He travelled a great deal, and is recorded in Lucerne, northern Italy and France.

In these years he produced woodcuts and fresco designs as well as panel paintings. With the spread of the Reformation in Northern Europe the demand for religious images declined and artists sought alternative work. Holbein first travelled to England in 1526 with a recommendation to Thomas More from the scholar Erasmus . In 1532 he settled in England, dying of the plague in London in 1543. Holbein was a highly versatile and technically accomplished artist who worked in different media. He also designed jewellery and metalwork. Share this artist Art Through Time: A Global View - Henry VIII, King of England Henry VIII, King of England » Hans Holbein the Younger (German, 1497–1543) or Workshop In 1526, Hans Holbein the Younger, his career in religious painting disrupted by Reformation iconoclasm, traveled from Basel, Switzerland, to London, England, hoping to find employment. With a letter in hand from the humanist scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam, Holbein first approached Sir Thomas More. The artist executed a number of portraits for More and others of standing before returning to the Continent in 1528.

Four years later, Holbein was back in England. To his previous patrons, he now added the German merchants of London’s Hanseatic League, and in short time, had made his way to the court of Henry VIII, where he worked across a wide range of genres and media, creating backdrops for ephemeral spectacle, designs for metalwork and jewelry, prints, murals, and miniatures, as well as easel portraits. This iconic image of Henry VIII is perhaps the artist’s best-known work today. Ironically, like other existing copies of the portrait, it cannot be firmly tied to the artist’s hand and is possibly a workshop production. All of these images, however, are ultimately based on Holbein’s original prototype, a no longer extant mural in Whitehall Palace created circa 1537. A partial cartoon (a drawing by which the artist transferred the design onto the wall) that survives from the Whitehall project shows the king with the same impossibly broad shoulders, dressed in the same finery, and holding the same accessories as in the portrait seen here. The only difference is that Henry, who is shown full-length in the cartoon, stands on a slight diagonal.

His head, thus, appears in three-quarters view. The ubiquity of the fully frontal Henry as represented by the current work and later copies of the Whitehall mural itself, however, suggests that Holbein might, in the final stages, have adjusted the king’s position for greater impact. Karel van Mander, who saw the Whitehall mural in the early seventeenth century before it was destroyed in a fire, wrote that the king appeared “so majestic in his splendor that the spectator felt abashed, annihilated in his presence.” On the wall of the palace, Henry’s image was part of a larger dynastic scene in which the king’s parents, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, and his third wife, Jane Seymour, also appeared. As an independent portrait, the image of the king does not lose its effect. Henry’s elaborate clothing and jewelry show him as a gentleman of wealth and magnificence. His massive body, filling the canvas, proclaims him as a force to be reckoned with. A Latin inscription on the portrait puts the king’s age at 49, suggesting a date for the work of 1540.

By that point in his life, Henry had already waged several wars, declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England, and married five of his six wives, divorcing two of them and beheading another. The replication of this work suggests that it was used as the king’s official portrait. As such, it would have hung in the portrait galleries of Henry’s noble subjects and foreign allies. Hans Holbein: Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein Hans Holbein the Younger The younger and better known son, Hans Holbein the younger, c.1497–1543, was an outstanding portrait and religious painter of the Northern Renaissance, was influenced by his father and by Hans Burgkmair . The first half of his life was spent in Basel except for short intervals in Lucerne, Lombardy, and France. He showed his diverse talents early in his career by designing woodcuts and glass paintings, illustrating books, and painting portraits and altarpieces. From youth he enjoyed the friendship of the great humanist Erasmus , and he made pen drawings illustrating Erasmus's Praise of Folly.

Of this period are the portraits of Jacob Meyer and his wife and the beautiful preliminary drawing of Meyer in red chalk and silverpoint (all: Basel). In 1519 Holbein was admitted to the painters' guild of Basel. Between 1519 and 1526 he decorated many buildings there, including the Town Hall, and painted the Passion Scenes and the celebrated Dead Christ (both in Basel), the altarpiece in Solothurn of the Madonna with St. Ursus and a Bishop Saint, and the famous Madonna of Burgomaster Meyer altarpiece (Darmstadt). Also of this period are several of his numerous portraits of Erasmus and a portrait of Boniface Amerbach (Basel). In these works the artist, now mature, shows his full genius without relinquishing the polished surface and enameled color of the earlier paintings. He reveals Italian influence in his larger conception and monumental composition and in the design and idealism of the characterization. A bold and subtle line, both precise and flowing, distinguishes these works.

From 1526 to 1528, Holbein was in England, where he painted a fine group of portraits, including those of Sir Thomas More (Frick Coll., New York City) and Sir Henry Guildford (Windsor Castle) and his wife (City Art Mus., St. Louis). After another residence (1528–32) in Basel, where he executed a second group of frescoes for the Town Hall (both series later destroyed), he settled in England and worked on portraits and wall paintings. Among the many famous portraits of these last years are those of Christine of Denmark and The French Ambassadors (both: National Gall., London). In 1536 he became court painter to Henry VIII and made numerous portraits and drawings of the king and his wives. His own wife and children, of whom there is a beautiful group portrait (Basel Mus.), remained in Basel. At 46 Holbein died of the plague in London. In addition to his paintings, Hans Holbein the younger, left to the world magnificent preliminary portrait drawings in which he combined chalk, silverpoint, pen and ink, and other media.

Today they are prized as highly as his paintings and may constitute a freer expression of his gift for exquisite characterization. In the beautiful simplicity of their design and in the subtle suggestion of both form and character, they are unsurpassed. Also famous are his woodcuts, which include the Dance of Death series and illustrations for Luther's Bible. Many European museums possess examples of his paintings. At Windsor Castle are 80 Holbein portrait drawings. In the United States the Metropolitan Museum has several portraits; the Frick Collection, New York City, has two; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., has two. Sections in this article: WebMuseum: Holbein, Hans the Younger Holbein, Hans the Younger Hans Holbein the Elder (1465?-1524). Born in Augsburg, Bavaria, the elder Holbein, like his brother Sigmund, painted richly colored religious works in the late Gothic style. In addition to the altar paintings that are his principal works, he designed church windows and also made a number of portrait drawings that foreshadow the work of his famous son. His later paintings show the transition from the late Gothic to the Renaissance style.

He died in Isenheim, Alsace. Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). Born in Augsburg, Bavaria, Hans received his first lessons in art from his father. In 1515 the younger Holbein went to Basel, Switzerland, with his brother, Ambrosius. Among the many scholars living in Basel at that time was the famous Dutch humanist Erasmus, who befriended the young artist and asked him to illustrate his satire, Encomium Moriae (The Praise of Folly). Holbein also illustrated other books, including Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible. In addition he painted pictures and portraits and, like his father, designed stained-glass windows. He also created designs for a series of 41 woodcuts called The Dance of Death . About 1525 the factional strife that accompanied the Reformation made Basel a difficult place for an artist to work. In 1526 Holbein, carrying a letter of introduction from Erasmus to the English statesman and author Sir Thomas More, set out for London. He met with a favorable reception in England and stayed there for two years.

In 1528 he returned to Basel, where he painted portraits and murals for the town hall. In 1532 he left his wife and children there and traveled once again to London. In England, where he became court painter to Henry VIII, Holbein was known chiefly as a painter of portraits. His services were much in demand. The more than 100 miniature and full-size portraits he completed at Henry's court provide a remarkable document of that colorful period. An old account of his services at court relates that he painted the portrait of the king, "life size, so well that everyone who looks is astonished, since it seems to live as if it moved its head and limbs." In spite of their richness of detail, Holbein's portraits provide remarkably little insight into the personality and character of the people he painted. Holbein also found time to perform numerous services for Henry. He designed the king's state robes and made drawings that were the basis of all kinds of items used by the royal household, from buttons to bridles to bookbindings. In 1539, when Henry was thinking of marrying Anne of Cleves, he sent Holbein to paint her portrait.

In 1543 Holbein was in London working on another portrait of the king when he died, a victim of the plague. Sir Brian Tuke c.

1527 (130 Kb); Oil on wood, 49 x 39 cm (19 3/8 x 15 1/4 in); National Gallery of Art, Washington The Virgin and Child with the family of Burgomaster Meyer 1528 (120 Kb); Altar-painting; oil on wood, 146.5 x 102 cm (57 5/8 x 40 1/8 in); Schlossmuseum, Darmstadt Georg Gisze, a German merchant in London 1532 (200 Kb); Oil on wood, 96.3 x 85.7 cm (38 x 33 3/4 in); Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin Sir Richard Southwell ï¿½ 19 Sep 2002, Nicolas Pioch - Top - Up - Info Thanks to the BMW Foundation, the WebMuseum mirrors , partners and contributors for their support.

Question: Hans Holbein the Younger was court painter to which King?
Answer: Henry VIII